Caught in the Act (The Davenports) (32 page)

“You can have it.”

She looked up at him. “You’d give it to me?”

He’d give her anything. And how was it that that was the case? He’d just met her.

Yet the wealth of emotion he felt for her was real. It was overpowering. It made him wonder again how Cat had managed to hand her over.

And it made him think about all that he’d missed out on.

“How long are you staying?” he asked. His mother had begged him to let her be here for this, but he’d wanted to meet Annabelle on his own first. He had promised to call, though, if today was it. He didn’t want his mother missing out on the chance to meet her only granddaughter.

“Through Saturday. My mom is coming back and we’ll be attending your play.”

“Terrific.” He finally made himself move. He went to the shelves and pulled down several other books that rated as his favorites. Her eyes lit up with each one.

Damn, she was fantastic.

“Thank you for wanting to meet me,” he stammered like a teenager.

She shot him a rolled-eye look and he laughed.

“That sounded lame, didn’t it?”

“Totally.” She grinned, and he was a goner. He fell completely in love with his daughter on the spot.

As she continued walking the length of his shelves, reading the title of each book, she stroked a hand over the spine of a two-hundred-year-old tome. That particular book never hit his floors. There were some that got special treatment.

She glanced over at him. “How could I not want to meet you, though? You do realize that you’re now a part of our country’s political history? An illegitimate Harrison? You can bet that’ll make the books.”

“Then I suppose that means you’ll be in there, too.”

“I’m counting on it.” She turned to him. The book he’d given her was held solidly against her chest. “But I’ll
also
be in there for my part in the changes that will someday take place in Washington.”

The air went out of his chest. “Really? You want to go into politics?”

“I’ll have my name on a ballot the first year I’m eligible.”

Of course she would. She was a Davenport, after all.

If this wasn’t his life and his daughter, he’d laugh. Whether he wanted it or not, he would be a part of politics for the rest of his life. Because unless this young lady kicked him to the curb, he was in her life for good. He supposed he might as well get used to smiling and shaking hands.

Three bright, sunny New England days left and Cat would have the park donation in the bag. She shook hands with a local business owner who’d been helping all day, the two of them chatting about mundane things as he drank from a cold bottle of water and Cat scanned the kid zone for Becca and Tyler. She found them playing in the sand pit with several other children they’d met over the last week. JP and Vega were helping man the children’s area. Annabelle was over there, too, though it was more as an older sibling watching over her brother and sister.

It was a sight Cat would have never imagined seeing. And it flooded her with love.

Her oldest daughter would go back to California Sunday morning, and Cat would return to Atlanta, her vacation over. The kids’ lives would return to normal, and she had no idea what would come next for her.

She did know one thing, though. It was looking very much as if all of it would happen without another word from Brody. Which hurt her more than she would have guessed. It had been a week since she’d seen him, and four days since he’d grudgingly replied to her last text.

That had been way too long.

She had
heard
about him, of course. Since Annabelle had met him on Monday, she’d split her time between Brody and Cat. It was strangely similar to sharing custody. Only, their child was old enough to transport herself, so neither parent had to actually see or talk to the other.

It was depressing, and made Cat wonder if this was what her life would have been like for the last eighteen years if she’d kept her daughter. Because love or not, making a relationship last at the age of sixteen rarely worked. The odds would have been stacked against them.

Toss in the logistics, the fact that the world would have forever been watching, and the lack of maturity on both their parts, and she remained convinced that Annabelle being raised by Patricia had been the best thing for her. It shamed Cat to admit it, but at the same time, she felt like such a grown-up for recognizing it for what it was.

Annabelle ambled her way over then, shaking hands and talking with a couple of locals on the way. The paparazzi that remained soaked it up, yet Cat didn’t believe for a second that Annabelle was doing it for the attention. She was doing it because it came naturally. Annabelle Weathers would someday become a public figure; Cat would bet on it. She could recognize the signs anywhere. She wondered if Brody was aware of that.

“Did I tell you I met Brody’s mother today?” she asked Cat when she reached her side. Annabelle grabbed a yard-size trash bag from the supply pile, and the two of them moved to one of the last areas to be cleaned of construction trash. “I had lunch with them.”

“Yeah?” Cat took one end of the bag.

“She’s great. Entertained us the whole time with stories of the security guy you hired for her. I think she called him Tank.”

“Stone.” Cat chuckled as she pictured Annabelle Hollister and Stone together. Cat had heard rumors that there was a bit more than security going on at Annabelle’s New Hampshire home. “But Tank fits him better.”

“Yeah, he was a big guy. And she seemed like a great mom. Brody was protective of her. It was cute.”

Cat could imagine how protective Brody would have been of a daughter growing up.

“It’s a shame not everyone can have a mom like that,” Annabelle mused.

“Tell me about it.” They moved together, Cat tossing a piece of scrap wood into the bag.

“It’s pretty cool that I was named after her.”

Cat peeked over at her daughter. “It’s pretty cool that Patricia kept the name. It means a lot to me that she did.”

They both grew silent, each in her own thoughts as they worked to clean up the area. The building of the playground would wrap up in the morning, and landscapers would descend on the area on Friday.

“What was your childhood like?” Annabelle suddenly asked.

“Mine? It was . . .” Cat gave it some thought. It had been normal. At least, she’d thought it was at the time. “I thought it was good. We were prominent in the news, of course, and I understood that from an early age. We always had to be careful about where we went and what we did, but I have two brothers I love to death. I was a total daddy’s girl, and until this last week, I had thought my mother wasn’t so bad. Driven, yes. I think she might have been the one to sustain our dad’s career during periods of his life—whether he wanted her to or not. But she loved us. In her way. I had a good childhood.”

She rattled on. As if trying to convince herself that it had been good. When she glanced over, Annabelle said, “I had the best childhood and the best mother in the world.”

Cat chuckled. “I’m glad.”

“I’m not saying that to rub it in or anything. But just to let you know that it was really good. And also . . .” Annabelle paused, and Cat stopped what she was doing to wait. She didn’t want to miss what her daughter had to say. She sensed it was important. Finally, Annabelle shrugged and added, “To say that I understand you giving me up. I thought I was pregnant last year.”

Annabelle paused and Cat’s eyes went wide.

“God, Mom doesn’t know,” Annabelle said quickly, throwing up a protective hand toward Cat. “Please don’t tell her that.”

“Okay,” Cat said gently. “I won’t. You’re a big girl, I’m not going to run to your mom.”

Annabelle blew out a breath. “Good. Because she
hated
the guy. She would kill me. But yeah, I had a scare.”

They stopped walking to stand face-to-face. The wind blew around them, ruffling both their hair at the ends. Cat found it almost funny how similar they looked standing there together.

“I didn’t want my whole life changed because of a baby, you know?” Annabelle added. “I have plans. Things I need to do. To fix. Things I want to accomplish.” She gave an apologetic grimace. “I had no idea what I was going to do.”

Cat could understand what Annabelle was trying to do for her, and she appreciated it. “My future wasn’t my only deciding factor in giving you up, I’m afraid.” That guilt hadn’t left her—knowing that it hadn’t just been about Annabelle—no matter that it had been the right decision. “My family name played into it way more than it should. In fact, it shouldn’t have at all.”

“So what?”

Cat gave her a pointed look. “What do you mean, so what?” Wasn’t it clear?

“I mean, move on.” Her daughter looked at her. “Forgive yourself, Cat. Don’t feel bad for me. I like you and all, but I wouldn’t have chosen you over my mom. Ever.”

“Ouch.” The truth hurt. “But okay, that’s good to know. So Patricia really did do good, then?” Not that Cat had doubted it. Annabelle was amazing.

“She’s the best. She’s older than my friends’ moms, yeah, but I think that gave her something they don’t have. She has a better perspective on the world. Not to mention, more money and the patience to actually focus on
me
.” Annabelle gave a wide grin. “I realize I’m lucky—though I’d probably deny all of this if you ever tell her I said it.”

Cat smiled. “It’s our secret. But what would you have done?” she asked. “If you’d been pregnant?”

Annabelle shook her head as a sadness Cat hadn’t seen with her before crossed over her face. “I have no idea. I’m just thankful I didn’t have to find out.”

Cat was, too.

“Are you more careful now?” Cat asked. “You’re about to go away to college. The boys are different there, you know? They’re older. More—”

“Stop,” Annabelle groaned. “Don’t even start on me. I don’t need another mom. Not one like that.” She reached over and gave Cat a warm hug. “You can be my mom, too,” she whispered. “I’d like that. Only, we’ll just be kind of friends instead of mom and daughter.”

“That would be nice,” Cat said. She had to fight to get the words around the lump in her throat. She’d hugged her daughter a couple of times over the week, but this one had been different. It had healed something inside her. “I’m glad you stuck around this week.” She squeezed Annabelle’s hand but did not let herself get teary. Annabelle would be embarrassed. “Think you might visit me again?”

“Do you mean here or in Atlanta?”

“Well, I live in Atlanta.” Though she would move if she had a reason. Not that that reason was speaking to her anymore.

“You could move here,” Annabelle suggested. “It’s a great place.”

It was a great place. She’d fallen in love with it as well as Brody. “I don’t know. It might be too hard for me.”

“I get it. That’s part of why I don’t want to go to Brown. The guy from last year, we ended rough. We didn’t make it through the pregnancy scare like I thought we would.” Annabelle made a face. “He’s going to Brown.”

“Don’t let a guy dictate your choices, Annabelle. If Brown is where you want to go, then go. He’s just a guy.”

“The thing is, I had kind of chosen it to begin with
because
of him.”

“I see. Then the slate is clean.” She gave her daughter a wink as they went back to picking up scraps. “Only, you’d better choose soon. Your time is running out.”

“Tell me about it. Mom’s going to lose her shit if I screw up and miss out on going to school in the fall.”

“I can understand that. I would probably lose my shit if Becca or Tyler did the same.”

“But there are other things I could do.” Annabelle cut her a sideways glance. “I hear the peace corps is always looking.”

Cat smiled and reached over to hug Annabelle once again. She would be proud if her daughter did
anything
Cat had done. It was nice to hear that the thought even entered her mind. “I may not have raised you, kid, but I sure made a good one.”

Annabelle laughed out loud. “That you did, Cat. I’m pretty darned good. And yes, I’ll come visit you. Wherever you are. Maybe you can come visit me, too.”

“You can count on it.”

CHAPTER THIRTY

K
NOCK, KNOCK.
”

Brody looked up from the papers he was grading to find his daughter standing at his office door. It brightened his day.

“Hey, AnnieB.” He’d given her a nickname. It suited her.

“Hey, Dr. H.” She’d followed suit. It had been a good week for them. They had so much in common. Their interests, their insights.

He shook his head with pride as she moved into the room and shoved books to the floor before plopping down in the chair in front of him. She’d made time for him every day this week, as if he meant something. Which was good, because if she hadn’t, he would have driven over to Cat’s place and sought her out himself. Because she
did
mean something to him. He’d met her three days ago, and already he was dreading her departure on Sunday. He had no idea when he might see her again.

“What are you doing here?” he asked. They’d made plans to meet for an early dinner before he would take her to the play. She’d been trying to wait until Saturday to see it in the new amphitheater, but he’d worn her down. He wanted to introduce her to the cast and to Clyde. He wanted to show her off.

“Just hanging out. You heard back from that producer yet?” she asked conversationally.

“No.” Which was annoying. It had been over a week. He’d told Annabelle about his dreams, but his hopes were once again plummeting.

“Hmmm.” She looked around the room, casual-like, but he could sense a purpose for her visit. He just didn’t know what it was.

“You decide on a school yet?” he asked.

“No.”

He narrowed his eyes on her. The girl was way too nonchalant about her education. “Tick tock,” he said. “Time is running out.”

She held up her phone. “I already heard from my mom this morning. She’s on it. You can let it go.”

He laughed. She was such an independent young woman. And though he never meant to, he found that he was a bit of a father when she was around. He worried about her, wanted to help her make decisions, and generally wanted to impart what wisdom he’d picked up over the years.

She wanted to hear none of it.

Every time he tried, she let him know she was fine, and that he didn’t have to try so hard. But he wasn’t trying. It simply came naturally.

“So . . .” She perused his shelves from her seat as if she hadn’t already gone through his books twice this week. “Talked to Cat lately?”

“Oh.” He frowned at her. This was about Cat. “What?”

She shrugged. “What do you mean, what? Just having conversation.”

“Right.”

She grinned. Every time she smiled like that, it made him think of Cat.

“Okay, fine,” she huffed out. “I’ll just say it. I think you’re making a mistake.”

“A mistake about what? I haven’t even talked to her in a week.”

“Exactly.” She shot him a frustrated look. “A mistake. Don’t you love her?”

“I’m not sure where you got
that
idea.” He had
not
talked to her about Cat. Other than to hear about their time spent together this week.

She rolled her eyes. “I’m not blind. Last week you guys were plastered all over the news.”

“Being together doesn’t mean love.” And why he was talking about love to his eighteen-year-old daughter, he didn’t know. It was strange.

“I know that.” She made a face. “But you guys weren’t just together. I mean, you fell in love a long time ago, right? Before I was born?”

He watched her. Did it matter to her to know that they’d been in love? He had no idea if something like that would mean anything to her or not. But the fact she was asking about it . . .

“Yeah.” He nodded. “We were in love. Before.”

“And you’re in love now,” she pushed.

“Drop it, Annabelle.”

“She’s a good person.”

“I know she’s a good person.” When she wasn’t around her mother.

“She quit her job, did you know that?” His daughter was also persistent. “She won’t even speak to her mother.”

He had not known that. He knew that Emma had gone back to Atlanta, but he’d made no assumptions about anything else.

“She has no idea what she’s going to do with her life now,” Annabelle said. “I think she would even consider moving up here.”

“No, she wouldn’t.”

“Ask her.”

He let out a tiny laugh. “Actually, I did.”

“When?” She sat up with anticipation, leaning forward. “What did she say?”

“It was before you showed up.”

She sighed. “So what did she say?”

“She didn’t. We got interrupted before she could answer.”

“And you never brought it back up?”

“The next time we talked, it was about you.”

“Oh.” The animation left her face.

“Right. So stop. It isn’t happening.”

She crossed her arms over her chest as she once again leaned back in the chair. “You are stubborn,” she observed. “Just like she said.”

“Cat has been talking about me?” The damned jump in his heart rate annoyed him.

“I don’t know.” Annabelle shrugged and went back to studying his books.

“You can be a pain in the butt, did you know that?”

She smiled. “Yeah, I know. But I’m already set in my ways, so don’t worry about trying to change it.”

He could see the hope in her eyes at the thought of him and Cat getting back together, though he didn’t know why it mattered to her. Maybe the romance of thinking her biological parents were meant to be would mean something to her? But he couldn’t do that. Not even for her. So he’d make her understand, instead.

He leaned his elbows on his desk and turned serious. “She lied to me, AnnieB. And she shouldn’t have. Not about you.”

“I get that. But isn’t that the past?”

“Well, you’re here now. That’s pretty present to me.”

“I mean your relationship. Her not telling you about me. Isn’t that the past? You two
had
gotten back together. Clearly there’s still something there. Even before I knew you were my dad, I saw you two in the news. I could see it was more than casual. You have a storybook romance.”

He knew she hadn’t just called him Dad, but the word had caught him in the chest. It made him hurt more. Because she could have been calling him Dad her whole life. “You’re letting the whole Romeo and Juliet thing go to your head,” he told her. “That was just a headline.”

“And you’re letting mistakes that happened almost nineteen years ago determine the rest of your life.”

God, she was stubborn. She probably
would
make a good politician.

“I could have raised you.” His voice rose slightly. “It’s that simple. I could have been your dad. Cat didn’t give me the opportunity to choose, and I could have raised you. Especially now that I’ve met you, and I see what I’ve missed. It rips me apart. She didn’t have the right to do that to me.”

“But I love my mom. I’m glad she’s my mom. And there’s no guarantee I would have turned out the same with you.”

“Didn’t you want a dad growing up?” He knew he had.

“Yeah. And I often wondered who he—you—were. But I wouldn’t change my life if given the opportunity. At all. I’m sorry if that hurts you.”

“I should have had the choice.”

“Sure,” she agreed. “And Cat shouldn’t have been manipulated by her own mother. She should have been able to trust her. Depend on her to help her do the right thing. But she
was
manipulated, and you
didn’t
get the choice. Cat also thought I was dead.”

Her last words were harsh. And Brody agreed with her point. Now that he knew about Annabelle, he understood how rough it must have been for Cat, thinking she had died. But it did not change the facts.

“You don’t get it, Annabelle. You’re too young. You don’t understand.”

“Okay,” she agreed. “Sure. But I’m two years older than you were when I was born, and you think you were old enough to raise me.” She shot him a look. “If you were old enough for that, why can’t I be old enough to understand love?”

Damn, she was smart, too. “You’re a bit of a smart-ass, you know that?”

She shrugged unapologetically. “I know. It sucks for other people.”

He chuckled. She was so amazing. And she was right. There was no guarantee she would have turned out the same if she’d been raised by him. In fact, the guarantee was probably that she would not. But that didn’t lessen his anger. Or his confusion.

Because she was right. He loved Cat.

He hadn’t seen or talked to her in over a week, and it was killing him. Seriously, he thought pieces of his heart might be breaking off and dying. He loved her. He had wanted to be with her forever.

He did want to be with her forever.

But he didn’t know what to do anymore. He was sick without her, yet he couldn’t figure out how to forgive her.

Cat stood off to the side of the crowd as she watched Brody step onstage at the end of the play. The applause he received was deafening. The entire community had come out for the opening of the park, and most of them had stuck around for the play.

Clyde had just introduced him and shared the phone call Brody had gotten earlier that day. The play had been sold. It was going to Broadway. Cat’s heart was overjoyed for him. She hoped she got the opportunity to tell him face-to-face.

And she had reason to believe that she would.

For the first time since their argument, he’d contacted her today. Sort of. She’d received a brown-paper-wrapped package that morning, addressed to her, Becca, and Tyler. Inside she’d found three huge boxes of crayons, along with three coloring books. The one for her had been entitled
Outside the Lines
. Attached to it had been a handwritten note.

Can we talk tonight?

Yes. They could talk. She very much wanted to talk.

She didn’t know what the gift or the talking meant, but she couldn’t help but be hopeful. Because without hope, she feared she’d fall apart.

The crowd cheered again as Brody finished talking, and Cat couldn’t help but picture her life with him. That’s what she wanted. Though she and the kids would be getting on the plane with JP and Vega in the morning, she didn’t want to go home. Ever.

She might still be in the Davenport family—and her mother had been right about that to one extent. She couldn’t walk away from her name. That would mean turning her back on her brothers, and she wouldn’t do that to them or to herself. And there was still the whole issue with Bennett’s paternity. She would be there to support him when he learned the truth. But she would live exactly the way she wanted to from now on.

Which meant, with Brody or not, she would be coming back to Dyersport to house hunt. Annabelle had told her that morning that she planned to attend St. Mary’s. She was hopeful she’d get accepted as a late applicant for the fall term.

Cat looked across the lawn at her daughter then. At all of her kids. They were standing with Annabelle’s mother, Brody’s mother, JP, and Vega. And Tank—Stone. The man had become a fixture in Annabelle Hollister’s life. Cat suspected that wouldn’t be changing anytime soon. She’d talked to both of them earlier in the day, and the guy had a serious crush. Annabelle was eating it up.

“You still in love with the guy?” a male voice said from directly behind her.

Cat whirled. “Bennett!” she shouted.

He stood tall and proud, his posture showcasing his many years in the army, though he’d long ago lost his buzz cut.

She threw herself into his arms. “I’ve missed you, you big lug.”

“I’ve missed you too, Squirt.”

He may not have been around a lot over the years, but he’d never changed. He was a bit distant, he was his own man, and he was also her brother.

After finally turning him loose, she leaned back and peered up at him. Geez, he was tall. She’d forgotten how much.

“So?” he asked.

“So what?”

He nodded toward the stage where Brody remained, talking individually with people who’d come up to congratulate him. “Love?” he asked. “It still there?”

She looked at Brody. “What makes you think I love him?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Making goo-goo faces at each other in the tabloids. Having a kid with the guy.”

“Ohmygod, Bennett. You have to meet Annabelle, she’s the best.”